Civic Spirit

It's Civic Learning Week! Hosted annually by iCivics, Civic Learning Week seeks to highlight the importance of civic education in sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States and further energize the movement to prioritize civic education across the nation. At Civic Spirit, we believe in a multidisciplinary approach to fostering informed and adept members of American society. We hope you will join us for our Civic Learning Week offerings, to enjoy inspiring conversations and learn about innovative models for advancing civic education in faith-based schools. We the People on Monday, March 10 at 7:30PM EST (Zoom) - "60 Years Since Selma: What MLK and Rabbi Heschel Teach Us Now" We the Educators on Wednesday, March 12 at 7:30PM EST (Zoom) - "Empowering Student Voice Through Civic Learning" To register for our programs, please visit civicspirit.org/events Civic Learning Week's National Forum on Thursday, March 13 (Livestream) - At 2PM PT, Aaron Dorfman of A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy and Educators Cohort fellow, Heidi Kabadi, and Educators Cohort alum, Rivka Press Schwartz, will be leading a panel titled "Civic Learning in Religious Contexts: Opportunities and Challenges." To register for the livestream and view more available programming happening during Civic Learning Week, please visit https://lnkd.in/g--5CjUc #CivicLearningWeek #civiceducation

Sign up for our We the Educators session, "Empowering Student Voice Through Civic Learning," happening next week! Hear from Educators Cohort alumni, Dr. Victoria Allen of North Shore Hebrew Academy, Joey D’Alessio of Loyola School, and Dr. Caroline Toumazatos of Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, as they share how their three schools have developed unique models that integrate civic learning to empower students as active contributors to their school communities. This discussion will be moderated by Civic Spirit's Director of Education and Innovation, Audi Hecht. We hope you will join us for this special session happening during Civic Learning Week! To register, please visit civicspirit.org/events #CivicLearningWeek #StudentVoices #CivicEducation #EducatorsCohort

Join us next week for our We the People session, "60 Years Since Selma: What MLK and Rabbi Heschel Teach Us Now." Leading our session is Peter A. Geffen, President and Founder of The Kivunim Institute, who spent the historic summers of 1965 and 1966 in Orangeburg, SC, as a civil rights worker. He will share his firsthand experiences in the Civil Rights Movement and explore the deep relationship between Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. To sign up for this special session happening during Civic Learning Week, please visit civicspirit.org/events #CivicLearningWeek #selma60 #MLK #WethePeople

On March 8, 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed a Presidential Proclamation designating the week as the first National Women's History Week. In his statement he quotes historian Dr. Gerda Lerner, who noted, "Women's history is women's right—an essential, indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long-range vision." Now recognized and celebrated annually as Women's History Month, we commemorate the achievements towards equality and contributions women have made to American society, culture, and history. We invite our community of educators to utilize our Women's History Month Civic Holiday Resources available on our Resources page: civicspirit.org/resources Our latest Civic Holiday Resource for the month will be made available next week. Sign up for our newsletter on our website to get it first in your inbox! #WomensHistoryMonth #CivicEducation #TeacherResources

Happy Presidents' Day! Also known as Washington's Birthday, we celebrate this day by honoring the legacy of all U.S. presidents and reflect on their impact on our nation's history. As we commemorate their leadership, we invite our educators and students to utilize our resources and check out our past We the People and We the Educators sessions, including "Visions for America: Civic Lessons Gleaned from Inaugural Speeches," "White House Chronicles: Insider Perspectives," and "A Peaceful Transfer of Power – John Tyler and the Accidental Presidency." To view our library of sessions, please visit vimeo.com/civicspirit To access our resources for bringing primary texts into the classrooms on civic holidays, please visit civicspirit.org/resources #PresidentsDay #WashingtonsBirthday #CivicEducation #CivicEngagement #TeacherResources

Join historian Professor Jonathan Sarna next week for a moderated discussion in our We the People session on the profound influence of the Hebrew Bible in America. This conversation will delve into pivotal moments when Jewish interpretations were sought to address key issues, such as slavery, army service, and temperance. We will also examine current debates over the Bible’s role in public education, shedding light on enduring questions about the relationship between religion and public life. This session, co-sponsored by the Community Scholars Program (CSP), will be moderated by Dr. Tamara Tweel, Civic Spirit co-founder and Senior Program Director at the Teagle Foundation. #civiceducation

Today we commemorate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States and national civic hero and champion of equality and justice for all. We invite our students and educators to view our past "We the People" session with Dr. Diana Schaub, Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Maryland and author of "His Greatest Speeches: How Lincoln Moved the Nation." The session, titled "The Gettysburg Address at 160," marked the 160th anniversary of this iconic speech and explores what Lincoln set out to accomplish in just 272 words. To view the session, visit https://lnkd.in/dJdzmszS #Lincoln #PresidentsDay #CivicEducation #CivicResources

Join us next week for our special We the Educators sessions, "Civic Love Languages: Discover Yours!" In this session, we’ll explore various "Civic Love Languages"—different affinities for civic elements, and you will have the opportunity to reflect on your own civic language, discover what excites and energizes you, and identify your personal, civic "type". This typology exploration will help you connect more deeply with your values and passion for civics in your personalized way. You can then bring this discovery process back to your classrooms or circles, guiding your students or friends to uncover their own unique ways of impacting and contributing to civic life. To register, please visit civicspirit.org/events #civiceducation #civicengagement #WeTheEducators

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we honor his legacy of justice, equality, and nonviolence. Educators can inspire students by exploring key texts like "Letter from Birmingham Jail," as they commemorate this holiday in their classrooms this month. Our resources provide invaluable opportunities for discussions about civil rights, ethical living, and the ongoing struggle for equality. We invite our educators to explore our Civic Holiday Resources for MLK Day on our Resources page. Visit our Resources page here: civicspirit.org/resources Check out our Vimeo page as well for our past We the Educators sessions highlighting the work of Dr. King: Awakening from the Dream: The Legacy of MLK - Featuring Jonathan Eig, Author of King: A Life AND Faith and Activism Behind Bars: A Rabbi and Reverend on the Legacy of MLK - Featuring Rabbi Saul Berman and Reverend Julie Johnson Staples Visit our Vimeo page here: vimeo.com/civicspirit #MLKDay2025 #IHaveaDream

Happening next week! Join us for our upcoming We the Educators session led by Director of Education and Innovation, Audi Hecht. In this session, we will explore how educators can use the upcoming presidential inauguration as an opportunity to teach about the evolving visions for America, the lessons in leadership from past speeches, and the new ideas that each administration brings to America's changing landscape. To register, please visit civicspirit.org/events See you there! #inauguration #civiceducation #civicresources